Container



Dec. 28, 1943. F, Q CHAPMA 2,337,869

CONTAINER Original Filed April 11, 1940 nvvzfzmom- BY ATTO RNEYS;

Patented Dec. 28, 1943 CONTAINER Frank D. Chapman, Berlin, Wis.

Original application April 11, 1940, Serial No. 329,021. Divided andthis application July 20, 1942, Serial No. 451,552

4 Claims. (o1. 22(l-86) The present invention relates generally toimprovements in the construction of containers especially adapted foruse in packing fluent commodities, and this application is a division ofmy co-pending application, Serial No. 329,021, filed April 11, 1940,entitled Art of canning.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved container orreceptacle for fluent commodity such as milk, which is formed tofacilitate admission of the material to the container interior.

It is present rather common commercial practice to fill containers withliquid commodities by injecting the liquid through a tube or nozzleadapted for disposition within a central upper opening or vent hole ineach receptacle. While this mode or admitting ordinary liquids to mostcontainers is quite satisfactory, certain fluent commodities ormaterials such as milk, tend to froth and foam and to entrap air whendelivered in jet form and at high velocity against the fiat bottoms ofthe receptacles. This objectionable condition is especially pronouncedwhen heated fatty liquid such as milk is being packed, and in caseswhere the injection nozzle orifices are considerable distance away fromthe container bottom when the liquid is being delivered against thelatter. I have discovered that the undesirable foaming and frothing andthe resultant entrapment of air within such receptacles, can besubstantially eliminated by properly forming or constructing thereceptacles so as to cause the entering material to be deposited uponthe container bottom and to be promptly but gradually dispersed orconverted from a high velocity jet into a relatively thin and gentlyspreading layer or film, and that the speed of filling such specialreceptacles can also be greatly enhanced.

It is therefore a more specific object of my present invention toprovide an improved receptacle for packing liquid such as milk, andwhich is adapted to be filled at high speed and while the milk is hot,without causing objectionable turbulence or foaming and withoutentrapping undesirable free air.

Another specific object of my invention is to provide improvements inthe construction of metal cans of the vent hole type, whereby suchcontainers may be more rapidly and efiectively filled with fluentcommodities while exposed to atmospheric conditions.

A further specific object of this invention is to provide a new anduseful can structure which can be manufactured at moderate cost, andwhich obviates many of the objectionable features of prior receptaclesof this kind when used for packing batches of certain commodities.

Still another specific object of the invention is to provide a strongand durable receptacle for milk or similar relatively delicate products,which will facilitate the filling operation While aiding in thesubsequent treatment and preservation of the commodity. 7

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description.

A clear conception of an embodiment of the invention and of the specificconstruction of my improved container, may be had by referring to thedrawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification whereinlike reference characters designate the same parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a, somewhat distorted central vertical section through one ofmy improved containers;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the container shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the container taken along theline 33 of Fig. 1. looking downwardly.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as having beenspecifically embodied in a vent hole type of metal can especiallyadapted to confine a batch of hot milk injected therein through thecentral vent hole, it is not my desire or intention to therebyunnecessarily restrict the scope or utility of the improvement which isalso advantageously applicable to nonmetallic receptacles used for theconfinement of materials other than milk. The term metal is thereforeintended to include any substitute-sheet material and the term milk isalso intended to include any similar liquid.

Referring to the drawing, the improved container shown therein,comprises in general a sheet metal tubular or annular wall 5 having abottom closure 6 and a cover or top closure 1, firmly secured to itsopposite ends. The bottom and top closures 6, 1 are also preferablyformed of sheet metal, and while the cover closure 7 is of relativelystandard construction the bottom closure 6 is of special formation andhas special cooperation with the top closure 7. The cover closure 1 isprovided with a tapered central vent hole 8 and is secured to the upperend of the annular wall 5 by a crimped or spun joint 9 produced with anordinary closing machine; and the bottom closure 6 is provided with acentral crescent shaped projection or mound l0, and with a concavelycurved annular peripheral por- When the improved containers are beingfilled with liquid such as hot milk, a filler such as shown anddescribed in the parent application above referred to, may be utilizedin order to effect filling of the successive receptacles at high speed.A liquid injection nozzle will then be lowered loosely through thecentrarvent hole 8 of ,7

each receptacle, sufficiently to position the nozzle discharge orificedirectly above and within the crescent shaped mound l0, whereupon thel'iquidwill'be delivered in the form of a high velocity jet against theconcave surface of the crescent; The concavity of the mound Hi willgently but quickly convert the jet of liquid into a; continuouslaterally advancing relatively thin layeror gradually spreading film,flowing across the fiat upper surface of the bottom closure 6, as shownin dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 3. As this spreading layer of liquidencounters the concavely curved bottom portion II, it is directedupwardly along the interior of the annular wall 5, and the liquidgradually rises and eventually fills the receptacle. During this risingperiod, vapor is formed above the top of the liquid, and this vaporexpells the free air through the vent hole 8 around the exterior of thefilling nozzle, and finally accumulates in the slight space beneath thetop closure 1 and above the measured batch of admitted liquid. Theliquid injection nozzle should thereafter be promptly withdrawn, and thevent hole B'must be sealed by soldering or otherwise, before theentrapped vapor has escaped; and the confined commodity may subsequentlybe further treated as desired. 'When the sealed commodity ladenreceptacles are final- 1y cooled, the confined, vapors will be condensedto thereby create a vacuous condition in each can.

"From the foregoing detailed description it will be apparent that mypresent invention provides an improved receptaclefor fluent commoditysuch as hot milk, which is formed to facilitate rapid and effectiveadmission of the material. to the receptacle interior. The improvedcontainers can be filled in rapid succession without causingobjectionable turbulence or foaming of the'hot liquid, and withoutentrapping undesirable free air; and may also be filled with ordinaryhigh speed fillers of the vent hole injection type. The new metal cansconstructed in accordance with the invention are also strong and durablein structure, and may be manufactured at moderate ,cost. While thesereceptacles are preferably cur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a liquid container having a smallcentral tapered vent hole in its top, and having a bottom provided witha crescent shaped mound offset with respect to .the central axis of thecontainer and concavely curved at said axis to uniformly distributeliquid admitted to the container through said vent hole.

2. A liquid container comprising, a tubular wall provided at itsopposite ends with top and bottom closures permanently sealed to thewall ends, said top. closure having a small central vent hole foradmitting liquid axially into the container, and said bottom closurehaving a central crescent shaped projection and a concavely curvedperipheral portion for dispersing the admitted liquid laterally acrossthe container bottom and upwardly along said tubular wall in spreadingfilm formation.

3. A liquid container comprising, an annular wall provided withtransverse permanently attached top and bottom closures, said topclosure having a small vent hole for admitting liquid into the containertoward said bottom closure, and said bottom closure having a crescentshaped mound concentric with the vertical axis of said hole and aperipheral concavely curved portion at said axis merging gradually intothe base of said mound and upwardly into the lower part of said wall.

, 4. A liquid container comprising, a thin cylindrical tubular wallhaving parallel top and bottom closures permanently attached to andsealing its opposite ends against escape of liquid, said top closurehaving a small central air vent hole for introducingliquid centrallyinto the container, and said bottom having a central crescent shapedmound merging into an extensive annular plane portion and an upwardlycurved annular peripheral portion connecting the outer edge of the planeportion with the lower interior of said cylindrical Wall.

FRANK D. CHAPMAN.

